Catch Up

Wow I've got a lot to catch up on. I've got two funerals, a wedding, and Thanksgiving to report on. Oh, and the baby too!

Baby Iwe is doing well. We had another ultrasound yesterday. I've had an ultrasound at every appointment. I love it! She is moving around like crazy. She rarely holds still. My belly is slowly growing bigger and bigger. It has really started to pop out the last week or two. Fun fun!

Melanie and Tyler got married last week. It was so nice to be in the temple with them. They are perfect for each other! I love them both like crazy. Melanie looked absolutley beautiful. I wish them their very own happily ever after.

Jarom wasn't able to be at Mel and Ty's wedding. He drove down to Arizona to attend his Grandpa Colgan's funeral. I flew down to meet him on Sunday.

The second funeral was one of my best friends all through high school. Derek Lowry. He was only 21. He was in the hospital with pneumonia and some medication that they gave him his body didn't like and it killed him. It was a shock. I was able to attend his veiwing but Mel and Ty's sealing was at the same tiem as Derek's funeral. I don't think anyone should ever have to choose between a best friend's wedding and a best friend's funeral. I chose the wedding because I know that was where Derek would want me to be.
Derek was an amazing person. He was probably the funniest kid I've ever known. He had this amazing quality to make you feel like you were his best friend. He made you feel so loved and important. Everyone loved Derek. I will miss him like crazy but I know that he is so happy now. He is finally serving the mission that he so badly wanted to serve. He will forever be an example to me. I love you Derek!

This is me and Derek at Preference our Senior Year. We all dressed up as Disney Princesses and took our Princes. It was a lot of fun! I was trying so hard to stay serious in these pics but I couldn't help but laugh.

I flew down to meet Jarom on Sunday in Arizona where we were able to spend some time with his extended family, many of whom I've never met before. We had a good time and I was able to attend the cemetary services for Grandpa Colgan on Monday.

Then Jarom, his mom, Booker, and I all drove to Alburqueque for Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving was great. Jarom's Grandma wanted to be in charge this year since she is moving away soon. She insisted that we use her mother's china for dinner. We were all terrified! She even wanted the kids to eat off of it. We finally convinced her that the 4 year old should use something less sentimental. Jarom was mad that Ahna got to eat off a regular plate while he had to be careful with an ancient, breakable one. It was definitely a switch from my family eating off paper plates! It was fun to eat off of nice things I guess, but it sure made cleanup hard.

The China all set up on the table.

Tons of crystal that had to be washed. This isn't even a 1/4 of it.
Poor Amelia (Jarom's younger sister) got stuck washing all the dishes.

Mel and Ty had thier reception a week after their wedding. It was so fun to get together with all the old friends. It's crazy to see where all of us are now in life. It's fun to watch friends find spouses and add to our group.
The girls minus Ashley. 4 married, one engaged, and one to go!

The girls listening to my baby. I'm getting quite the bump!

Phew! That took some work.

It's a . . .

And we couldn't be more excited. Jarom's new favorite color is pink.

Growing a belly

I guess it is finally time to announce that I am pregnant. It won't be too long before I start to show and can't keep it a secret anymore. I am 14 weeks along now. I can't believe that I'm already a third of the way through this pregnancy. It has flown by. Baby Iwe (ee-way, that's what Jarom call it right now- it's African) is due March 18th. I've been pretty sick but it's starting to get better now. Jarom and I are so excited. We can't wait for our little one to get here. I've been trying to get my little nephew Jaxon to tell me if it's a boy or a girl but he won't tell me. I'm hoping to find out at 16 weeks but I may have to wait. We'll see. I can't wait to feel the baby moving. It shouldn't be to much longer now.

This pregnany has been different than the first one. I am grateful for the first experience because I appreciate this pregancy so much more. In a strange way I have loved being sick and exhausted. The nausea is a constant reminder of how lucky I am to have a life growing inside of me. Hearing that heartbeat for the first time was also a miracle. I never got the chance with the first one. I'm also loving growing a belly. I don't have much of one yet, but enough to make my pants tighter. I can definitely feel the difference. Jarom has been especially cute this time around as well. He is always rubbing my belly and saying hi to the baby. The other day he even read baby Iwe a story. He was so giddy when we had the last ultrasound. We saw the baby moving around and got to hear the heartbeat again. He was smiling the rest of the week. I am the luckiest girl ever.

Life at the new house is great. There are still quite a few boxes to be unpacked but we are getting settled. I have no time to unpack the rest. Between school, work, and the exhaustion I just don't ever get around to it. It'll happen one day. We love our house though. We especially love having Booker with us finally. He is such a good dog. We love him.

Well, it's finals week so I should be studying for my exams. Guess I'll get to it.

Our New Home!!!

We have just gotten word that our offer has been accepted! When we first walked into this home we got this overwhelming feeling that this was supposed to be our house. We now just have to wait for our loan to come through. We close on August 11th. We are so excited to move and to have a home of our own. We love the neighborhood and the area. It is beautiful. There are parks and bike paths everywhere. It fits our lifestyle so well. We're excited to finally have our dog move in with us too. This is our new house. It is right on the border of Lehi and Saratoga Springs and is pretty close to Utah Lake.
This park is right next door. It might as well be our yard except we don't have to mow it.
We love the back porch too! It has built in misters and everything.
I'm so excited to have a yard. This picture makes it look smaller than it really is. I just couldn't get in a good spot for a picture. I'm excited to have a garden and stuff.
I've got some pictures of the inside that I'll have to post later.
We will have to have a house warming party or something once we get all moved in. We'll have a barbeque and stuff. Fun fun!

Tag #1

So I've been tagged 3 times now. I'm not sure I'll ever catch up on them. This one was the easiest so here ya go. I'll do my best on the other two, but I'm not going to guarantee anything.

ABC TAG-
A- Attached or Single? Very, very attached.
B- Best Friends? Jarom, Steff, Larken, Kylee, Mel, Jared, Heather,
C- Cake or Pie? Neither are my favorite. I'm much more of a brownie or cookie fan. I don't like cake at all though, so I'll say pie. I do love lemon pie.
D- Day of Choice? Hmmm, sometimes Friday and sometimes Saturday. It depends on which of those days is my day off. They switch.
E- Essential Item? My camera.
F- Favorite Color? Green.
G- Gummy Bears or Worms? Bears. But they have to be pronounced Goo-mee bears. That's how my dad says it.
H- Hometown? Highland
I- Favorite Indulgence? Right now it's Bajio's shrimp and pineapple salad with mango salsa (2 scoops).
J- January or July? No contest. July! There is so much more to do in the summer time.
K- Kids? Working on it :)
L- Life isn't complete without? Jarom next to me. Everything is so much better when Jarom is with me. I'm not sure how I survived without him.
M- Marriage Date? June 6. 2006.
N-O- Oranges or Apples? Both my Great Grandpa and my Grandpa have an orchard so I LOVE apples! But they have to be from the family orchard. They're just better! I do love a good orange though.
P-Phobias? The dentist. I almost have a panic attack when I just drive by the office. I've had quite a few terrible experiences that have scarred me forever.
Q-Quote? Oh, so many. Here's just one . . .
"To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayl of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch . . . to know even one life has breathed easier becuase you have lived. This is to have succeeded!" -Ralph Waldo Emerson
R- Reasons to smile? Thunder, family, realizing what you have, hugs, old friends, gardens, being with my hubby, sleeping in, breakfast for dinner, dancing, learning, and so much more!
S- Season of choice- Summer. There is so much to do and it's warm.
T- Tag 3 people. Steff, Katrina, and CharLee
U- Unknown fact about me? I love to garden. When I went to Africa I fell in love with gardening. I can't wait to move into a house with a yard so I can have my very own garden.
V- Vegetable or Fruit? Both. I'm a huge fruit and veggie eater.
W- Worst Habit? When I'm sad or mad I won't talk. I just turn off. Jarom has to dig and dig to find out what's wrong. He's usually the only one who can get in.
X- X-ray or Ultrasound? Ummm . . . usually ultrasound, but the last one I had sucked, so I'll say x-ray today.
Y- Your favorite food? Pineapple
Z- Zodiac Sign? Aquarius

Finally!

So I know it's been forever since I last posted. I guess it's hard thinking about what I should be blogging about. Well, I suppose I've got to do it sometime. So here we go . . .

Jarom and I just celebrated our 2 year anniversary on the 6th (Ya, I know we were married on 6-6-6). Let me tell you though, I did not plan to get married on June 6, 2006.

The wedding date was actually set for May 27th. However, I woke up on May 24th and my left leg was CRAZY swollen. My doc sent me to the hospital for an ultrasound. It revealed that I had blood clots from my hip to my ankle. Basically, my leg was solid from my hip down.
They admitted me to the hospital where they started me on blood thinners and then put a filter in my chest so that if the blood clots broke loose, they could not enter my lungs. Because the clotting was so severe, the docs also started an aggressive procedure to "roto rooter" the veins in my leg to free them of the clots. The surgery was succesful until the very end when I had a severe reaction. From what I'm told, they were really worried they were going to lose me. I remained in the ICU for the next 36 hours.
I recovered and the doctors told us that the surgery was successful and that they did not expect the clots to return. As of Friday evening, May 26th, they told us we could proceed with the sealing on Saturday if I would go in a wheelchair and endure the pain. We had decided to cancel the reception but to go forward with the sealing. All I wanted was to get married!
But on Saturday morning, the clots had returned to my left leg, this time even worse than before. Not only did the marriage have to be postponed but the doctors told us they needed to transfer me by ambulance to Provo hospital so that experts on vascular medicine could treat me. Those experts were so confused and concerned as to how a 19-year-old healthy young girl could clot again so quickly. They recommended exploratory surgery, and quickly.
By the wee hours of Sunday morning, the surgeon found my problem. Up in my pelvis, the artery providing blood to my left leg crossed over the top of the vein that drains my left leg. The vein was being smashed between the artery and my pelvic bone, closing off all drainage. As soon as the doctors inserted a stent to keep my vein open, the clotting stopped. The surgeons again "roto rootered" my veins, and the clots were gone. At the end, when they removed the filter from my chest, they found a fairly large clot lodged in the filter.
I've since made a complete recovery and haven't had any problems with it at all really.
There is no doubt that this was a huge challege for us - one of those big bumps in the road that come along from time to time. But we are so grateful. The experince taught us so much.
I'm just grateful I finally was able to get married.
This was right after I was admitted to the hospital. I was not a happy bride. Jarom seems close to thrilled! No, he was trying to be strong and happy.

Chillin' in the ICU. I still thought I was going to get married the next day. Silly me.Eating Oreo's and milk. May 27th. My "supposed to be" wedding day.
Jarom was so good at keeping me happy and making me laugh the whole time. He's the best!

We were finally able to get married and it was the happiest day of my life! I love Jarom so much. And hey, I think the only way Jarom can remember our anniversary was by getting married on an easy day to remember. 666, pretty easy right? He hasn't forgotten thus far! ;)

Happiest day of my life!

Stealing a kiss

Holding Hands Forever

I never wear any kind of shoe except flip-flops, why should my wedding day be any different?

Well, hopefully this post is the first of many more to come. I think I'm getting back into the swing of things.

Maybe I'll post Africa stuff. I love sharing that.